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Kernel Crash Dump: Sudo Apt Install Linux-Crashdump

The document discusses kernel crash dumps, which involve copying volatile memory contents to disk when the kernel execution is disrupted. It describes events that can cause disruptions and the kernel crash dump mechanism, which uses kexec to quickly reboot a new kernel instance in reserved memory. It also summarizes the installation process for the kernel crash dump utility using apt and notes the default prompt to enable kdump during installation.

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Francis V. McCann
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63 views1 page

Kernel Crash Dump: Sudo Apt Install Linux-Crashdump

The document discusses kernel crash dumps, which involve copying volatile memory contents to disk when the kernel execution is disrupted. It describes events that can cause disruptions and the kernel crash dump mechanism, which uses kexec to quickly reboot a new kernel instance in reserved memory. It also summarizes the installation process for the kernel crash dump utility using apt and notes the default prompt to enable kdump during installation.

Uploaded by

Francis V. McCann
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Installation

6. Kernel Crash Dump


6.1. Introduction
A Kernel Crash Dump refers to a portion of the contents of volatile memory (RAM) that is copied to disk
whenever the execution of the kernel is disrupted. The following events can cause a kernel disruption :
• Kernel Panic
• Non Maskable Interrupts (NMI)
• Machine Check Exceptions (MCE)
• Hardware failure
• Manual intervention
For some of those events (panic, NMI) the kernel will react automatically and trigger the crash dump
mechanism through kexec. In other situations a manual intervention is required in order to capture the
memory. Whenever one of the above events occurs, it is important to find out the root cause in order to
prevent it from happening again. The cause can be determined by inspecting the copied memory contents.

6.2. Kernel Crash Dump Mechanism


When a kernel panic occurs, the kernel relies on the kexec mechanism to quickly reboot a new instance of the
kernel in a pre-reserved section of memory that had been allocated when the system booted (see below). This
permits the existing memory area to remain untouched in order to safely copy its contents to storage.

6.3. Installation
The kernel crash dump utility is installed with the following command:

sudo apt install linux-crashdump

Starting with 16.04, the kernel crash dump mechanism is enabled by default. During the installation,
you will be prompted with the following dialog. Unless chosen otherwise, the kdump mechanism
will be enabled.

|------------------------| Configuring kdump-tools |------------------------|


| |
| |
| If you choose this option, the kdump-tools mechanism will be enabled. A |
| reboot is still required in order to enable the crashkernel kernel |
| parameter. |
| |
| Should kdump-tools be enabled by default? |
| |
| <Yes> <No> |
| |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

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